Carol H. Williams is the president, chief executive officer and chief creative officer of Carol H. Williams Advertising. She founded the company in 1986 after recognizing the need to communicate successfully to African American and urban markets with targeted strategic communications. The agency’s current clients are top Fortune 500 firms and industry leading companies including General Motors, Coors Brewing Co./Coors Light, Procter & Gamble, Cingular Wireless, Washington Mutual, VISA, Starwood, Disney and McNeil Pharmaceuticals. In Ms. Williams’s more than 30 years of advertising experience, she has developed some of the most memorable brand-building campaigns in recent history including the Secret Antiperspirant campaign, “Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman”; the highly successful “Paper Knife” campaign for Pillsbury frosting; and the “Say Hello to Poppin’ Fresh Dough” campaign for Pillsbury. Her creative work for the California Department of Health Services significantly reduced smoking rates among African Americans. Prior to forming her agency, Ms. Williams was senior vice-president, creative director at Foote, Cone & Belding in San Francisco. She was the first female creative director and vice president of the Leo Burnett Co. in Chicago. Ms. Williams’ community involvement includes working with the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP, the U.S. Dream Academy, Downs Memorial Church, and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, among others.

Updated: July 13, 2012